An MP admitted he didn’t know what Uber was until black cab drivers were striking outside the Houses of Parliament

A UK MP has admitted that he didn't know what Uber was until
London's black cab drivers started striking outside the Houses of
Parliament.

Cabinet Office minister Matthew Hancock told Business Insider at
a sharing economy conference in London this week that a strike in Parliament Square last June impacted his
one-year-old son's birthday, which was being held in the House of
Commons on the day of the strike.

"I’d never heard of this company Uber. It was my son’s first
birthday and my grandmother who is 101 was coming so I had a bit
of a logistical nightmare," said Hancock. "It was all going just
about fine and then suddenly there were a load of taxis on
Parliament Square and then there were more taxis and the whole
thing ground to a halt. My one-year-old and my 101-year-old
grandmother were stuck in a car together and one was screaming.
They weren’t enjoying it.

"I didn’t know why there was this protest so I went on Twitter
and said what is this all about and a load of people came back to
me and told me about this company that I’d never heard of.
Anyway, I signed up that day and I've been using it ever since."

Does anyone have details of this #Uber app
everyone's talking about? It sounds awesome. I'd never heard of
it until today...

Hancock, now one of the government officials helping to shape
legislation around Uber and the sharing economy, said he is on
the side of the "disruptive technology" as opposed to the side of
those "disrupting economic progress."

He added that the government should be focused on the needs
of customers.

"I note that the High Court ruled that an app is not a
taximeter," said Hancock. "I think that’s a very good
starting point. Ultimately there are over a million Uber users in
London and many people rely on them to get a more effective,
faster and cheaper service and we should be on the side of the
consumer."

Hancock's comments are at odds with what London mayor Boris
Johnson and transportation regulator Transport for London (TfL)
have been saying about Uber lately.

A member of the audience questioned Hancock about
the mixed messages coming from different parts of government
on Uber.

Hancock said "simplicity is everything" when it comes to
regulation but didn't say how the different government bodies
will work together to inform policy on Uber. Instead, he told the
member of the audience to visit a website and raise his questions there.